"Alaska Aids Assistance Association"

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz describes Alaska’s pending fiscal situation as “an act of budgetary terrorism.”

On the Rendezvous stage Juneau drag king Tyquan lays down some fancy footwork to Bobby Brown’s “Every Little Step.” With a fake wireless mic, Tyquan lip syncs as the R&B singer, flanked by backup dancers in gold parachute pants.

Naloxone — a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose — has long been used by emergency medics, but now it’s being deployed to police departments and non-profits at the front line of the state’s opioid crisis. Even with millions of new federal dollars being spent, the demand in outpacing the supply.

The number of syringes exchanged at one Anchorage non-profit doubled in just two years. In 2016, the program gave out slightly less than a half-million clean needles. And disposed of even more. This year they’re on track to outpace that.